Chris Lewis
Clairmonte Christopher Lewis
Born: 14 February 1968, Georgetown, Demerara, Guyana
Major Teams: Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Surrey, England.
Known As: Chris Lewis
Batting Style: Right Hand Bat
Bowling Style: Right Arm Fast Medium
Test Debut: England v New Zealand at Birmingham, 3rd Test, 1990
Latest Test: England v Pakistan at The Oval, 3rd Test, 1996
ODI Debut: England v West Indies at Port-of-Spain, 1st ODI, 1989/90
Latest ODI: England v South Africa at Manchester, Texaco Trophy, 1998
Teams: Leicestershire 1987-91 (capped 1990);
Nottinghamshire 1992-95 (capped 1992).
Surrey 1996
Tours: England Young Cricketers to Australia 1987
England A to Kenya & Zimbabwe 1989-90.
England to West Indies 1989-90 & 1993-94.
Australia & New Zealand 1990-91.
Australia 1994-95
New Zealand 1991-92
India & Sri Lanka 1992-93.
Career Statistics:
TESTS
(including 22/08/1996)
M I NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 32 51 3 1105 117 23.02 45.64 1 4 25 0
O M R W Ave BBI 5 10 SR Econ
Bowling 1142 220 3490 93 37.52 6-111 3 0 73.6 3.05
ONE-DAY INTERNATIONALS
(including 23/05/1998)
M I NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 53 40 14 374 33 14.38 80.60 0 0 20 0
O M R W Ave BBI 4w 5w SR Econ
Bowling 437.3 29 1942 66 29.42 4-30 4 0 39.7 4.43
FIRST-CLASS
(1987 - 2000)
M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 189 275 34 7406 247 30.73 9 34 154 0
O R W Ave BBI 5 10 SR Econ
Bowling 5334 16225 543 29.88 6-22 20 3 58.9 3.04
LIST A LIMITED OVERS
(1987 - 2000)
M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 265 216 56 3926 116* 24.53 1 14 104 0
O R W Ave BBI 4w 5w SR Econ
Bowling 1968.2 8181 312 26.22 5-19 10 2 37.8 4.15
- Explanations of First-Class and List A status courtesy of the ACS.
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Profile:
Memorably described by Vic Marks as the "enigma without variation," Chris
Lewis will be remembered as a wonderfully talented athlete who never quite
attained the levels predicted of him.
Born in Georgetown, Guyana, the son of a church minister, Clairmonte
Christopher Lewis emigrated to England when he was just 10. He went to
school with England team-mate Phil DeFreitas in Willesden and joined
Leicestershire in 1987. The national selectors soon took notice and he was
chosen for the Youth World Cup in Australia that winter, where he helped his
side to the semi-finals.
A fine, though truncated 1989 season saw Lewis selected for the A Tour of
Zimbabwe and Kenya, but an injury to Ricardo Ellcock saw Lewis called up to
the senior trip to the West Indies. He made his international debut in a
one-dayer at Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad, taking the wicket
of Desmond Haynes to illustrate that he was at home at the top level.
Lewis retained his place when England returned home for the series
against New Zealand, impressing with 3-54 at Leeds, and a fiery spell at The
Oval which saw Rutherford struck on the head and Hadlee sustain a broken
finger. Lewis's Test debut came at Edgbaston, as England beat New Zealand to
take the series. He again impressed, with four wickets in the Test and a
fluent 32 runs. Injury problems first became apparent in the subsequent
series with India, when shortly before the Third Test, Lewis pulled out
feeling unwell. The cause was later announced to be a migraine, but some
were less than impressed by the dedication of the young fast bowler.
Worse was to follow on the Ashes Tour of 1990-91. Having contributed well
as England were beaten in the First Test, Lewis was forced home with a
stress fracture in his back, and upon being recalled for the First Test
against the West Indies at home, he again pulled out feeling unwell. He was
also diagnosed as suffering from Raynaud's Syndrome, a blood circulation
problem that necessitates a month in hospital every couple of months.
However, the selectors kept patience at this stage and recalled him for the
Fourth Test, where he repaid them handsomely with 6-111 in the West Indies
first innings and 65, coming in at number ten, in England's second innings
as they crashed to defeat. 47 not out in the next Test helped England level
the series. He performed well on the New Zealand tour that winter too,
confirming thoughts that, as Botham's talents waned, this was now England's
premier all-rounder. He scored 70 at Christchurch and 5-31 at Auckland as
England won the series, but was again forced to miss a Test, this time due
to Raynaud's Syndrome. Restricted by a side strain, he nevertheless played a
valuable role in the side that made it to the final.
A much vaunted and highly lucrative move to Nottinghamshire in 1992 ended
in acrimony with Lewis claiming he had been "opposed because I didn't drink,
opposed for wearing certain clothes," and rather bizarrely, "opposed because
of my underwear."
Lewis had performed well in 1992 though, topping the Notts bowling
averages (with 40 wickets at 24 in the Championship) and being second in
their batting averages (at an average of 49.25). He was awarded his cap too,
in 1993, the season in which he scored a career-best 247 for Notts against
Durham. In 1994, too, he delivered when finally allowed to bat at number six
as he'd requested. He averaged 58 and was fifth in the national averages.
But matters came to a head in 1995. Lewis missed almost the entire season
with a hip problem and was released in July. He had put in a request to
leave in 1994, and when it was not granted, stated publicly that he was
determined to leave for one of the London clubs. This was against ECB (TCCB
at the time) regulations and Notts lost patience. Wisden noted that: "news
of his release was greeted with cheers around Trent Bridge." He was not
popular, to be sure, but perhaps the members were also venting their
disappointment and frustration. They had seen enough to know how good he
could be.
Back in the international arena, Lewis had an unspectacular series
against Pakistan in 1992, punctuated by a fine 55 and five wickets in the
match at Old Trafford. On tour in India he had no luck with the ball, taking
three wickets in three Tests, but in Madras on his 25th birthday he struck a
wonderful maiden Test century, 117 brought up with a six to provide lone
resistance as Kumble spun England to an innings defeat.
A pair at Lord's in 1993, against Australia, saw Lewis dropped from the
Test team (by an unfortunate coincidence, pictures of Lewis posing almost
naked appeared in a magazine at the same time), and though he was selected
to tour the West Indies, further injuries (to his heel this time) restricted
him, although seven wickets at Port of Spain and 75 not out at St John's
illustrated his potential. He also didn't endear himself to the management
after getting Devon Malcolm to shave his head, then failing to wear a hat
and consequently missing the first warm-up game with sunstroke.
Lewis played one-day international cricket in the summer of 1994 and
scored 220 not out against a strong Warwickshire side, but could not win a
Test recall. While the national team embarked on an Ashes tour, he opted for
club cricket in Australia, and was in the right place when Gough was forced
off the tour injured. 11 wickets in two Tests, including a vital 4-24 at
Adelaide, placed him back in the reckoning before injury intervened again.
5-72 on his return to the side, against India in June 1996 at Edgbaston,
the year Lewis joined Surrey and useful all-round displays at Lord's and
Trent Bridge augured well for a successful comeback, but in truth his
international career was almost finished. Later that summer he arrived late
for a One-Day International and his excuse was deemed unacceptable. A recall
to the one-day squad to face South Africa in 1998 was but a brief return;
the selectors were keen to invest in youth and Chairman of Selectors David
Graveney admitted, while insisting that performance alone (and not
character) was the key to an international place, that "Chris Lewis is
different."
Outstandingly talented in all facets of the game, Chris Lewis could make
cricket look easy. 6'3" and capable of bowling fast with a fluid and
graceful action, a natural timer of the ball when batting and as athletic a
fielder as one could hope to see, Lewis' abundant talent made his relatively
modest returns all the more galling. At times he appeared to be in cruise
control, content to get by rather than seizing the initiative. Such a view
is probably harsh. Over 500 first-class wickets with 93 in Tests and over
7,000 first-class runs illustrate a productive career. Martin Johnson once
joked that Lewis had undergone so many x-rays that the easiest way to find
him was to switch on a Geiger counter. Ray Illingworth commented: "Chris
Lewis? He plays a couple of games, then you don't see him for weeks," and
Graham Gooch remarked that "You can tell just by looking at Dominic Cork's
eyes that he wants it bad. I was never sure what Lewis wanted." No doubt
Lewis was misunderstood; not fitting into the tight confines of dressing
room life. He does not drink, dislikes smoke and carries a bible with him:
not routine for a young man, but quite commendable in its way. His habit of
referring to himself in the third person was not to everyone's taste and the
belief grew that he was a prima donna. His relationship with controversial
agent Gareth James caused distrust too.
Lewis continued to perform well at county level for Surrey, in the
increasingly rare periods when injuries permitted, winning his cap in 1996
and playing a prominent role in their Benson and Hedges Cup success of 1997.
He showed what might have been by captaining the side with flair when
Hollioake was absent. He moved back to Leicestershire for the 1998 season,
and played a handful of games a season for them.
Lewis announced, in an English tabloid in 2000, that he had once been
approached by a bookmaker to help fix a game. The bookmaker allegedly also
provided the names of three high profile England players who had been
involved in such practices in the past. Doubt was expressed over the
authenticity of the story, but following a police investigation a man was
arrested in London.
Lewis left first-class cricket during the winter of 2000-2001, with many
bridges burnt and an apparent hip injury inhibiting his bowling. His
cricketing epitaph will be of an unfulfilled talent, barely utilised, and
allowed to slip away from English cricket at a time when he was sorely
needed. (George Dobell, Copyright CricInfo 2001)
Last Updated: Saturday, 17-Aug-2002 14:42:43 GMT
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